ticking clocks
by lovelypersephassa
Summary: she knew her time was near, she knew soon she would pass in Valhalla, where she hoped to find him. the Master of Dragons, the bearer of Inferno, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. the son to Stoick and Valka, the former chief to Berk, her husband, and...the father to her son / sequel to the closing walls
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N:**_

_**Hey. It's me again. Just a thought I had after seeing a picture on Google+.**_

_**This is like a sequel to my other HTTYD one-shot; **__**Shattered Windows and the Sound of Drums**__**. Reading that first would make your life (and mine) a whole lot easier. Thank you and enjoy the story ;)**_

_**P.S: to make this easier, I changed Astrid's DOD to 40-something. I'll explain how this happened later.**_

_**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.**_

_You see, when I had adopted this young one, I only really did it because of his looks. He looked like a miniature Hiccup, and that hit me where the wound still was. Later I began to love him, and our bond grew close. But I never told him of who his father would have been. Every time he asked, I would dismiss him. I regret that now, sitting in bed. I know that my end is near, and all this guilt and sorrow is coming down upon my broken shoulders. Odin knows all of this, I can only hope he will have mercy when I step up to the gates of Valhalla._

_**~Master of Dragons, by Astrid Hofferson Haddock**_

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A man with auburn hair, freckles, and forest green eyes sits by an young woman lying on a bed. She has blond hair done in a braid, and is wearing a simple red dress. She is only 48, but yet an accident has her bed-ridden.

She is taking shallow breaths, and you can feel her life's aura leave her body as we speak.

Her blue eyes are trained on the young man. She squeezes his hand tighter, and the man's throat feels like it's closed. She will gone soon. They both know it.

She tightens her grip on his hand.

Before the light leaves her eyes, she opens them and a smile spreads across her face. "I see…Hiccup. I see him. I'm coming…home."

Then she turns her head to gaze at the young man. "Horrendous…remember. I will…always love…you."

Then the light leaves her eyes, she closes them, and her hand slacks from his.

The man smiles through his tears. He knows she is now in Valhalla, resting with his adopted dad.

He gets up, and lightly presses a kiss to her white, cold, pale skin.

His name is Horrendous Hiccup Hofferson Haddock the First.

And his mom was Astrid Victoria Hofferson Haddock.

_**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.**_

He walks slowly down the stairs, and to the living room. He looks around. This is where he had grown up. His dragon, originally his father's, Toothless, brought him here at 3 after his original parents were killed by Drago Bludvist.

He has lived here for 23 years now.

His mother, bless her soul, had adopted him, claiming that he looked like her late fiancée. He was shown pictures **(A/N: carvings)** of him and his mom, smiling, riding dragons, even one of them kissing. And he did have to admit, he looked a lot like the late Hiccup.

That's all he knew though. His name. Every time he tried to bring him up around his mom, her eyes would reflect pain. Longing, suffering. She would dismiss him and then go to his grandmother, Valka. His grandmother was 60 now, old, but still had a lot of energy.

Every day she would lap Berk on her dragon, Cloudjumper. His grandfather, Stoick, would ride his dragon, Thunderdrum, with her. They would laugh, but he knew there was still pain there.

He remembered one day he had asked his mom about his dad. He was 10, and wanted to know more about him.

She sent him away, but he followed her to his grandparent's house.

_Astrid looks both ways, before opening the door and slipping in. Horrendous ran over, and peeked in through the key hole. His mommy sat by the fire, with Valka. She was crying._

_He only heard part of the conversation._

"…_I miss him. Every year I try and forget, but…" She broke down crying. "Every year, on the 29__th__ of February, today, but…I can't."_

_His grandmother smiled, a sad thing. "I know. I miss him too, Astrid. But Hiccup wouldn't want us to dwell in the past. He would want us to look to the future."_

_His mom nods, trying to wipe the tears from her sharp blue eyes. "I know."_

He is jolted from his day dream when a certain blacksmith clears his throat.

"How is she?"

Horrendous shakes his head. "She's dead."

A sharp intake of breath is taken by the crowd. The shield-maiden is dead. Mother to the chief of Berk. Loved by all.

He clears his throat.

"As she was once a chief, I want her to be treated as one. A ship, please." He turns to Snoutlout. "We need Hookfang, if you don't mind."

He nods and whistles for his Monstrous Nightmare.

_**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.**_

Hookfang flames up, and I graze the tip of my arrow up against his hot skin. I string the bow and let the arrow fly up, up, until it comes down upon the sail, then slowly the yellow, orange and red flame crawls down the mast to where my mother lies.

I lower the bow and nod.

Everyone else strings their bow, and lets their arrows fly. The ship is burning more now.

I turn away, and see Valka has her face buried in Stoick's shoulder, refusing to look at the ship.

Gobber removes his helmet, and I smile sadly as tears rise. He solemnly begins the sacred words.

"May the valkyries welcome you and lead you through Odin's great battlefield. May they sing your name with love and fury, so that we might hear it rise from the depths of Valhalla and know that you've taken your rightful place at the table of kings. For a great woman has fallen: A warrior. A daughter. A mother. A friend."

_**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.**_

I tromp home, refusing to look up.

How will I go on? Mom was my source of bravery, courage, and just energy in general.

Now she's gone, and by the hands of the man that killed my loved ones. My adopted dad. My real parents.

Drago Bludvist.

I shake my head and angrily wipe away my tears. I'm a chief, and chiefs don't cry.

Once I am inside, I pull my dad's sword from my pocket. Mom took it from his body before he was burnt, and she passes it to me before she died.

Inferno.

I swing it around, and light up the tip. Then I slash the air, taking my fury out on the oxygen around me.

Then I hit the cabinet.

It goes up in flames, and I cruse, put the sword up, and extinguish the flames. The wood falls and hits the drawer underneath it.

It rips it from the base, and both go crashing to the floor.

I sigh and pick up the demolished drawer, and then see something. I set the ruined piece of wood on the table, and pull out a book.

It's a thick book, stuffed with paper and knowledge of the past.

I pick it up and flip it over. I wrinkle my nose at the dust, blocking the title from my view.

I blow on it, and the dust scatters like dragons when you put an eel by them. But I don't care. The only thing I care about is the book. Inscribed on it in fancy letters it reads:

_Master of Dragons by Astrid Hofferson Haddock_

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Master of Dragons?

I've heard that phrase before. I can't place where though…

So I pick up the book, stuff it into my sack, and leave the mess. I'll get to it later.

I open the door, slam it, and run into the night. I know where I have to go.

_**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.**_

In minutes I arrive at my grandparent's house. The light is still on, so I knock, and then hear, "Come in."

I open the door and see Valka and Stoick sitting side-by-side by the fire in the dark, the flames casting ghoulish shadows upon the wall behind them. Cloudjumper looks down at me from the rafters, and I force a smile. "Hey there, big guy."

He coos and I laugh softly.

Valka clears her throat. "Yes, my dear?"

Her eyes are rimmed with red, and her voice warbles.

I take a deep breath and walk forward.

Her eyes soften. "What's the matter?"

I clear my throat awkwardly. "Um…I was swinging Inferno around when it hit a cabinet. The cabinet fell onto the floor, hitting a drawer and I found this inside."

I hold up the book, and her breathing almost stops. Stoick turns to me with wide eyes. "Where did you say you found this?"

I swallow my fear. My grandfather is VERY intimidating.

"In the kitchen, sir. In a drawer…"

Valka holds out her hand, and I draw close enough to lay the book down in her hands. She takes it with old, trembling hands, and it is then that I see how old she really is.

Her long, pale fingers trace the letters. She breaths out. "Horrendous, do you know who the Master of Dragons was?"

_Was? As in past tense?_

"Past tense?" I ask, and her shoulders tense.

"Yes. He died."

I nod slowly. "Oh."

There is an awkward silence, until it is broken by Stoick.

"Enough! Odin! You people can't seem to admit anything can you?"

He turns to me. "What Valka means is yes, he died. And his name was-"

Valka joins in, eyes on the ground. In unison they answer my silent question.

"-Hiccup."

_Hiccup? _

_Wait...my dad's name was Hiccup. Could it be?_

"Wait, so the Master of Dragons was-"

"Hiccup." Stoick answers. "Your father."

The world reels and then comes to a stop as it fades from view and into black.

_**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.**_

"Ugh…"

The world comes back into view as Horrendous opens his forest green eyes. His grandparents stand over him, signs of distress and wariness in their eyes.

"Are you okay?" Valka asks, helping him up. He nods, massaging his temples. "Yeah, fine."

She sits back down in her rocking chair, and Stoick looks at him. "Any questions, my boy?"

Horrendous nods and pulls up a stool. "Lots."

Valka nods. "Shoot."

He folds his hands. "So…my father…Hiccup, was the famous Dragon Master?"

She nods.

He slowly nods. "Okay…so…was mum married to him? I mean, before he died. How did he die anyway?"

Stoick and Valka suck in a breath, look at each other, and silently agree. Stoick nods, and begins the tale.

"My boy, you have many questions. I can answer them all…but the wounds behind the stories are still fresh, so excuse any tears if we happen to spill them."

The boy nods silently.

"This was a long time ago. Many years ago, when I was still chief, Hiccup shot down a Night Fury-"

Horrendous nods. "I know that."

Valka squeezes Stoick's arm. "Keep going."

He takes a deep breath. "It all started with Drago…"

_**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.**_

The sun goes down. Night falls. The sun comes up.

And Horrendous knows all about his dad.

His death, his birth, his struggles, his disabilities, his beliefs, and his love life.

He nods to the elders, and walks right out.

He runs to his house, tears stinging his eyes.

_Why?_

_Why did my mom never tell me this?_

Curling up into a ball, he falls asleep.

_**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.**_

_There is sunshine._

_And a gate. Inscribed into the golden gate are words in Latin:_

_Subornatus est scriptor Battlefield Magnus._

_He hears someone laughing._

_He turns, unsheathes Inferno, and faces the man._

_Who looks just like him._

_Auburn hair, freckles, tanned face, small braids in his hair, and armor with the logo of Berk. But what jars the young man is the man's leg._

_The thing is, he doesn't have one. Just a metal rod holding him up._

_The most puzzling thing about the man is actually not the man himself…_

_It's about the woman._

_The woman is sitting next to him, laughing, braiding a small piece of his hair._

_Her laugh rings out across the valley, and Horrendous' knees go weak, and his sword drops. _

"_Mom?"_

_She turns, and her smile widens. "Horrendous?"_

_The man turns also, while she gets up and runs to him, giving him a huge hug. He hugs back._

_She looks good. No broken arms or shoulders, no lines under eyes, no wrinkles. Just laugh lines and a huge smile._

_The man clears his throat. "Astrid…who is this?"_

_She steps back from the hug, and grab's Horrendous'arm, and pulls him towards the older man._

"_Horrendous, meet the Master of Dragons."_

_The breath leaves his lungs. _

"_Wait you mean-"_

_The man stands up, brushes himself off, and smiles. "Hello Horrendous. My name is Hiccup. Perhaps you have heard of me?"_

_**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.**_

_**A/N:**_

_**CLIFFY!**_

_**I can do a final part to the trilogy. All I ask is that you approve first.**_

_**Was this good? Bad? Horrendous? (XD. That was a bad pun!)**_

_**Random question #1: Does anyone reading this speak German?**_

_**Random question #2: Any fans of Divergent?**_

_**Fun fact about me: English is actually not my first language, German is.**_


	2. Author's Note

_**Hello darlings. I know it's been long time no see, but I've been away on a much-need vacation from writing fanfiction and posting it. While I've been away on my emotional hiatus I've taken some Creative Writing courses and my style has matured, and based on that, this is just a small note to warn you of incoming changes. **_

_**First I will be deleting all Rise of the Guardians/Frozen crossover fanfictions. I know that's how I got to as many readers as I have now, but I've tried rewriting them and have noticed how my muse refuses to work with me on anything relating to Jack and Elsa. So, if you would like, all my Rise of the Guardians and Frozen fics, whether they be crossovers or not, are all up for adoption until July 15**__**th**__**, because by then my profile will change.**_

_**Second, I will be deleting all my HTTYD writings. I've found I can no longer characterize them as well as before, and for that I am truly sorry. Like I said above, all of them will be up for adoption until July 15**__**th**__**; after that they will be deleted.**_

_**All my other fanfictions are in the process of being rewritten entirely; the original stories themselves will not be deleted but I will post the new changes as new chapters, and then delete the previous chapters. Again, if you would like any of the originals, please contact me through PM or email and I will send them right over.**_

_**I know this is kind of sudden, and I'm sorry, but the truth is I cannot write like this anymore. **_

_**Thank you for understanding,**_

_**-Ames**_


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